Guest blogger: Jayme Cloninger On February 19, Washington Plaza Baptist participated in the Baptist Women in Ministry’s Martha Stearns Marshall day of preaching by inviting Jayme Cloninger to preach, a recent college grad who is a friend of Pastor Elizabeth. Jayme currently serves as a human rights advocate for the Enough Project on the Raise Hope for Congo Campaign {Read more…}

What does joy feel like? What does a God’s ordaining moment feel like? What does “this is the gospel incarnated” feel like? What does a “this is why I do ministry” moment feel like? For me, all of the questions could sum up how I felt about worship and lunch with our friends at Martin Luther King, Jr. Christian {Read more…}

By Faith We Go On: Hebrews 12:1-2, 8-12 Martin Luther King, Jr. Christian Church 30th Anniversary Service & Joint Service with Washington Plaza Baptist Church Now, I know that some in the congregation this morning, get to hear me talk more than they might like– as I preach every Sunday– but for the rest of {Read more…}

I don’t know when is the last time you sat in complete darkness? How did you feel? What did you sense? What did you notice about your body, your fears or even your surroundings? These are all questions that I want you to consider– as we sit together in as dark of this room this evening. {Read more…}

How hard it is for us strong, “can do anything types” to not be afraid of love! Love given and acknowledged always holds a level of vulnerability that sometimes we simply aren’t willing to show. But, that our souls truly need. This week has been a happy one around our house in particular. In October, there is the {Read more…}

Today, Whitney Houston took me to church. This afternoon from 12 noon- 4 pm I watched the entire Whitney Houston funeral via the life stream. By the end, as her body left the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey while Whitney’s version of “I Will Always Loved You” played, I was in tears. I couldn’t {Read more…}

Today is Valentine’s Day . .. a day that I know many of my friends hate. I even saw someone recently wearing a t-shirt like the picture to the right. I totally understand. It can be a rough world out there in the commercialism that we call American holidays especially for those who don’t have what our culture {Read more…}

This week on Monday and Tuesday, I gathered at a retreat for Baptist pastors in the Northern Virginia and DC region on the topic of narrative leadership. The center point of this retreat was stories and the idea that we only know who we are as leaders and as congregations is when we tell and {Read more…}

How many times has it be said about grief: “It’s not a big deal. Why can’t you just get over it?” Or, “Time heals all wounds.” It is easy for us to say or want to say these words because in doing so we separate the emotion from our participation in it. Grief, when let loose is {Read more…}